Tuesday, November 26, 1996
OPINION:
Bruin victory punishes those that lost faith, left Rose Bowl
earlyLet there be no debate … God is a Bruin.
What else besides divine intervention could lead to such an
incredible turn of events in such a short time? Whatever it was,
Saturday’s game against USC held the greatest finish to a college
football game ever.
"What about Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary against Miami in 1984, or
Cal’s kickoff return in the 1980 Big Game against Stanford?" you
ask.
I say that nothing could compare to the utter drama and stunning
comeback that head coach Bob Toledo’s "gutty little Bruins" put
together.
It is because of the scale of this comeback that I will never
forget this game.
It is also why I will never forgive myself.
You see, I left early.
Yep, with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, after the UCLA
offense had had third and goal from the three, only to end up with
fourth and goal from the 29 and a field goal, my group of friends
and I headed for the parking lot to beat the traffic.
We didn’t even turn on the radio.
Shame on me.
The funny thing is, I’ve never been a premature departer in my
life. At the Warriors’ basketball games when I was younger, we
couldn’t leave until the final buzzer sounded, even if the hapless
Warriors were losing by 20.
If my mom ever tried to turn off a game with only a few minutes
left, I would practically lose my mind.
Maybe that’s why she laughed so hard when I told her of my
misfortune. Maybe that was my punishment for being a brat when a
game was clearly over.
My mom was laughing really hard.
The worst part was I had a premonition of my idiocy as we walked
to our car.
"What if we come back and win the game?" Obvious thought.
"What if we score and then recover a fumble?" It happened.
"What if I hear a roar from the stadium as I reach my car?"
Heard it.
"I should probably turn on the radio." I didn’t.
When my roommates incredulously asked me what I was doing home,
I didn’t understand. After they told me between gales of laughter
about my painful error, it really took me some time to get over it.
That night, as my friends and I coordinated the evening’s
entertainment, I heard that same disbelief and laughter over and
over again.
I’m used to being laughed at because I have an older sister and
I used to be a pretty hyperactive, weird kid, but everyone was
laughing at my misfortune. When I called my parents, who have
always been my rock, I had to call them back because I couldn’t
handle the guffaws.
I’ve heard all the comments  "some fan you are," "shame on
you," "you’re an idiot," etc.
I just think that I was completely out of my mind, so I’m going
to plead insanity and hope that people will forgive me.
Was it really that bad? I mean, I painted my body on national
television to show what a big UCLA basketball fan I am two years
ago against Arizona.
I really am a big fan. Honest.
It’s funny because I could be watching some ghastly mauling on
television between two football teams that I don’t care about and I
will sacrifice study time to watch the inevitable conclusion.
This time, after gutting out 3 1/2 quarters of painfully bad
football, I couldn’t just stay six more measly minutes?
No, I had to leave, miss the greatest ending ever, get heckled
mercilessly, and be tempted to see if their really is an afterlife,
and all that I get out of it is a column.
Shame on me.
Mark Shapiro is a Daily Bruin columnist. He also claims to be a
die-hard Bruin fan.
Mark Shapiro